LG Electronics and Samsung showcased
55-inch (140 cm) OLED TVs a year ago and they are expected to be
priced up to five times higher than liquid-crystal display (LCD)
equivalents when they reach store shelves next month.

Considered the future of consumer electronics displays, the
OLED technology is more energy-efficient and offers higher
contrast images than LCD, and is so thin that future mobile
devices will be foldable like paper.

LG Electronics, the world's No.2 TV manufacturer, said it
would start delivery of the new TVs from early February, with
plans to display them at 1,400 retail outlets in South Korea.

They would be launched in the United States, Europe and
other Asian markets during the first quarter of 2013.

In South Korea, the 55-inch model would sell for 11 million
won ($10,300) - nearly four times that of LG Electronics'
LED-backlit LCD model and around five times that of more common
LCD versions.

Global OLED TV sales are forecast to explode from 50,000
units this year to 1.7 million units in 2014, according to
research firm DisplaySearch. That is still only a fraction of
the roughly 250 million TVs of all kinds expected to be sold
worldwide in 2013.

"The launch has more of a symbolic meaning that LG has the
technology ready to commercialise ahead of any of its rivals,"
said Sophia Kim, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.

"It will take another two to three years for OLED sets to
become more affordable and thus commercially successful, because
consumers will start buying them when prices halve to around 5
million won."

OLED displays are already used on Samsung's popular Galaxy S
and Note smartphones.

But OLED panel makers such as LG Display and Samsung Display
have yet to address manufacturing challenges to lower costs to
compete against LCD panels.

LG and Samsung had hoped to launch OLED TVs in the second
half of 2012 but manufacturing challenges meant they missed the
potential windfall of hitting the U.S. market in time for the TV
buying spree associated with the Superbowl in early February.